1.1 Mysterious Guidance, A Midnight Dash
The night sky was like a giant ink bottle overturned by some mischievous child, thick enough to wrap around you, muffling the city's clamor so tightly not a sound could escape.
Lin Xuan slumped in that second-hand Alto, which looked like it had been stolen from a scrap yard and barely held together, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white, his eyes wide as dinner plates fixed on the road ahead.
The rattling car creaked and groaned all the way, like a disgruntled old workhorse dragged out for overtime in the middle of the night, endlessly complaining about the all-night journey.
Suddenly, the Quantum Spirit on the car's screen blurted out a soulless, mechanical voice: "Turn right in two hundred meters. Destination is 14 kilometers away."
The voice exploded in the deathly silent cabin, startling Lin Xuan so much he jerked violently, nearly losing the steering wheel.
He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Oh, my ancestors! Couldn't you give me a heads-up? In this pitch darkness, you nearly sent me into a ditch to feed the frogs! That 'special place' you mentioned, you're not planning to sell me off to some secret organization's lair, are you? My fragile body can't handle that kind of trouble!"
Despite being a hundred times unwilling and full of unspoken complaints, Lin Xuan, as if possessed, followed the Quantum Spirit's instruction and turned the wheel.
He kept muttering, "I don't know why I'm listening to you, emotionless hunk of metal. If I fall into a trap, I'm definitely dismantling you for scrap!"
The car chugged and wheezed, struggling along the winding mountain road. The city's neon lights and liveliness were long gone.
First, there were sparse, low-lying village houses by the roadside, then only rolling hills and dense forests, like green monsters, encircling him tightly.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the ground in patches of white, like scattered silver shards, casting an eerie, unsettling glow.
Suddenly, a piercing wolf howl echoed from the distance, followed by rustling in the bushes. Lin Xuan flinched, muttering, "Good heavens, this place is no man's land. If you weren't leading me, I'd never have known a secret was hidden here even if you beat me to death! If this continues, I'll be scared half to death!"
As he spoke, he swerved left and right, dodging the huge potholes on the road that threatened to toss the tires off.
For about an hour, the car bounced and jounced on the rugged mountain path like a drunken lout, finally swaying and lurching deep into the mountains.
1.2 The Hidden Gate, A Glimpse of the Base
Slipping and sliding, illuminated by the dim glow of the headlights, Lin Xuan finally spotted the legendary base gate.
What he saw nearly made his jaw drop—the gate was hidden in the shadow of the hillside, blending perfectly with the surrounding rocks and trees. It was like a chameleon clinging to a leaf; if you didn't get up close and squint hard, you'd never discover the door hidden there!
"Whoa! This gate is totally movie-caliber! Dr. Chén probably watched too many films to make it so mysterious!" Lin Xuan leaned in and touched it. Good heavens, this wasn't ordinary stone; it was a special composite material, as hard as the skin of a steel giant.
His fingertips felt the cool surface, etched with a fine, grid-like texture. Forget strong winds and torrential rain; even a landslide probably wouldn't faze it.
Looking closer, the gate concealed a slew of high-tech encryption and defense devices, from a biometric system capable of identifying individual cells to an electronic lock a hundred times more complex than a bank vault. Layer upon layer, like a group of cold, unfeeling bodyguards, they stood guard, preventing any intrusion from the outside world.
Lin Xuan stood before the closed gate, staring at the cold electronic lock, his mind reeling, "What now? I don't have the password. I can't just stand here gawking, can I?"
As he was fretting, the Quantum Spirit's calm voice sounded again: "No matter what."
"What? What nonsense are you spouting? I'm sweating bullets here, and you're reciting nursery rhymes?" Lin Xuan nearly choked on his own spit, widening his eyes.
The Quantum Spirit explained unhurriedly, "Dr. Chén likes to say this when he enters the password. Try it."
"It's that simple? This password is too casual, like a joke! Dr. Chén is really carefree!" Lin Xuan pouted, his face full of disdain, but half-believing, he entered the password.
"Creeaak—" With a muffled sound, the gate slowly opened, like a giant that had slumbered for millennia slowly opening its eyes.
Lin Xuan was both shocked and delighted, nearly jumping three feet in the air, "Hey! It really opened!" He took a deep breath, his heart pounding like a rabbit's in his chest, a mix of excitement and nervousness, like opening an unknown mystery box, and slowly stepped into this mysterious world.
1.3 The Core Area, A Shocking First Look
Upon entering the base, the first thing Lin Xuan saw was a small garage. A pickup truck sat there, gleaming and looking sprightly, as if ready to haul out and get to work at any moment.
"Whoa! I didn't expect a base in the middle of nowhere to have transportation. Dr. Chén thought of everything. Is he afraid of being trapped here?" Lin Xuan quipped as he parked his own dilapidated Alto.
Guided by the Quantum Spirit, like a thief sneaking into a treasure cave, he tiptoed through the parking lot and along a secret passage, as if playing hide-and-seek, into the core area.
As soon as he entered, the space opened up before him, brilliantly lit. The room was filled with all sorts of sophisticated scientific equipment, glowing with a faint blue light, like enigmatic steel guardians, exuding an aura of untouchable majesty.
The walls were constructed from high-strength alloy and special protective materials, not only hard enough to withstand a tank collision but also capable of blocking external electromagnetic signals like swatting flies, ensuring the research work was completely undisturbed.
A set of seemingly unremarkable computers in the corner caught Lin Xuan's attention.
The chassis was square and dusty. When powered on, the cooling fans whirred like small motors, buzzing like an irritable giant mosquito.
"This is it? This is the base's core computing equipment? It looks no different from my old antique computer at home!" Lin Xuan pouted, muttering disdainfully under his breath.
The Quantum Spirit immediately switched to "educational mode," its mechanical voice devoid of any emotion: "This is the base's core computing equipment and my operational carrier. Its performance ranks among the best in China. It is equipped with the latest quantum computing technology, processing massive amounts of data as easily as eating popcorn. Its processing speed is tens of thousands of times faster than traditional supercomputers, simulating complex physical models and cracking conventional encryption algorithms in the blink of an eye, forming a solid barrier for the base's research and security."
"That powerful?!" Lin Xuan's eyes widened, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. He couldn't help but reach out and gently touch the chassis, as if he could feel the powerful computing capability through his fingers. He muttered, "Good heavens, you can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't measure the sea with a ladle. This thing is truly low-key!"
In a dim corner of the base stood ROB1, an intelligent multi-functional robot, like a silent steel warrior.
It stood 235cm tall, its square metal shell covered in the marks of time and countless fine scratches, like an old book filled with stories. Its head was inlaid with a pair of glowing blue electronic eyes, like two mysterious gems, constantly scanning its surroundings with vigilance.
ROB1 was not agile in its movements; every step was accompanied by the heavy sound of mechanical operation, "kacha kacha," like an elderly person with stiff joints.
But its limbs were strong and powerful. It was the base's all-rounder, capable of inspecting equipment, repairing circuits, and transporting and organizing supplies.
It was equipped with various professional tools and sensors. When inspecting or repairing equipment, it was as precise as an experienced doctor examining a patient.
Moreover, it possessed powerful data analysis capabilities, able to plan its work tasks independently based on the base's needs, making it more reliable than the most dedicated employee.
"Hey! This robot looks quite reliable. It might be able to help me a lot in the future!" Lin Xuan looked at ROB1, his eyes full of anticipation.
As if sensing his gaze, ROB1's electronic eyes suddenly flickered, emitting a low hum that startled Lin Xuan. He subconsciously took a step back, "Whoa! You scared me! Don't do that suddenly!"
1.4 Tracing the Base's Origins, A Legendary Past
Lin Xuan was incredibly curious about the origin of this mysterious base and couldn't help but ask the Quantum Spirit, "So, how did this base come about? Did it fall from the sky?"
The Quantum Spirit's mechanical voice responded, beginning to recount a story full of twists and legendary color.
It turned out that Dr. Chén was a titan in the fields of quantum communication and artificial intelligence, with remarkable achievements and great renown, attracting the attention of many foreign powers.
On one occasion, he led a team participating in a multinational joint top-level research project and made a significant breakthrough, developing a new type of energy conversion device and achieving a qualitative leap in artificial intelligence algorithms. These achievements were too brilliant and made international forces covetous, trying every means to claim them as their own.
Upon learning of this, China's national security department, to prevent these achievements from being exploited by those with ulterior motives, dispatched China's top architectural and research teams to secretly build a base in these uninhabited deep mountains.
In the early stages of construction, difficulties piled up one after another. The terrain here was extremely complex and inconvenient for transportation, making it impossible to bring in large equipment and building materials.
The construction team had no choice but to first forcibly carve out a temporary road and then use helicopters to transport key supplies. However, as soon as they started excavating the mountain to build the base's main structure, they encountered geological problems like rock strata and underground caves, which halted the construction progress, causing immense anxiety.
But the research team and construction workers did not give up. They collaborated closely, conducting geological surveys to gradually understand the underground situation and innovating engineering techniques to skillfully avoid dangerous areas. They used special reinforcing materials and structural designs to lay a solid foundation for the base, as if outfitting it with a sturdy armor.
After years of arduous struggle, this secret base was finally completed, becoming a cradle for cutting-edge research. Many years later, it would also become a sanctuary for Lin Xuan and the Quantum Spirit.
"Good heavens! I never expected this base to have so many stories behind it. Dr. Chén is amazing!" Lin Xuan exclaimed, his admiration for Dr. Chén flowing like an unending river.
He slowly looked around, as if he could see the figures of the builders sweating and toiling day and night, filled with both anticipation and unease about what the future held here.